title: Prevalence of occupational exposure to blood and body secretions and its related effective factors among health care workers of three Emergency Departments in Tehran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accidental exposure to blood and body secretions is frequent among health care workers (HCWs). They are at risk of acquiring blood-borne diseases. In this study, we have investigated the prevalence and risk factors of occupational exposure among the HCWs of the Emergency Departments (ED) at three teaching hospitals in Tehran.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted this observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study using a self-reporting 25-question survey, related to occupational exposures, in February 2010. It was carried out among 200 HCWs (specialist physicians, residents, medical interns, nurses, laboratory personnel, housekeepers, cleaners, and others), who were working in the EDs of the three teaching hospitals of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The age, sex, and job category of the HCWs suffering from the injury were determined, as also the risk factors responsible for the exposure of the HCWs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and fifteen (57.5%) of the 200 HCWs had had at least one episode of blood or body fluid exposure in their professional life. Hollow-bore needles accounted for the highest amount of injuries, with 41.5%, followed by suture needles (18.5%). The most prevalent procedures associated with injuries were suturing (17.5%) and recapping used syringes (16.5%), respectively. All the specialist doctors in this study reported at least one exposure. The percentage of exposure in the other participants of our study was 74.3% for ED residents, 61.1% for laboratory technicians, 51.9% for nurses, and 51% for medical interns. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that male gender, recapping needles, and job profession were independently associated with exposure to blood or body fluids.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High prevalence of occupational exposure in this study emphasized the importance of promoting awareness, training, and education for the HCWs, for preventive strategies, and also reporting of occupational exposure to blood and body secretions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Davood
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Farsi
authors.forename: Mohammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zare
authors.forename: Sayed A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hassani
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abbasi
authors.forename: Afsoon
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Emaminaini
authors.forename: Peyman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hafezimoghadam
authors.forename: Mahdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rezai
keywords: Emergency Department; Iran; health care workers; occupational exposure